


Far From Perfect

by ToxicLatteHottie (Aya_Chi007)



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I'm Soft For These Two OKAY, Slice of Life, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23017978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aya_Chi007/pseuds/ToxicLatteHottie
Summary: Lex Foster's life is far from perfect.
Relationships: Lex Foster & Ethan Green, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 10
Kudos: 115





	Far From Perfect

Lex groans at the sound of the alarm clock. She reaches out blindly, slamming her hand down randomly before finally hitting the snooze button. She sits up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Banana… hey, Banana…” she reaches over to shake Hannah’s small, sleeping form. “Hey, c’mon, you gotta go to school and I gotta go to work.”

A little grumble escapes from under the blankets. Lex takes that as a good sign before slipping out of their bed to get dressed. She’s shared a bed with Hannah since Hannah outgrew her crib. Mom was always promising to save up money to buy a bigger trailer so they could have their own rooms, but Lex knew it was bullshit.

Soon, they’re both dressed, Lex in her Toy Zone uniform and Hannah in a yellow striped t-shirt and jeans. Lex carefully peers out of their bedroom, relieved to see the living room empty. “You got your backpack, Banana?” she asks kindly, turning to see Hannah hold it up. “Okay, let’s go. We can stop at McDonald’s on the way and get you some breakfast.”

They hold hands as they walk down the sidewalk from the trailer park into town. It makes Lex feel a bit safer, being able to keep Hannah by her side. They walk in silence, listening to the early morning sounds of Hatchetfield.

After a quick breakfast, Lex drops Hannah off in front of Mrs. Davidson’s classroom. “Ethan’s going to pick you up after school, okay, Banana?” Lex promises.  
  
  
“Like normal?” Hannah asks softly. She waits for Lex to nod in affirmation before hugging her tightly and darting into the classroom.  
  


Lex smiles tightly at Mrs. Davidson before beginning her trek to the Lakeside Mall.

Lex is barely through the employee entrance of Toy Zone when she hears Frank calling for her. The next few hours are a blur of lining up toys in neat little rows and dealing with customers. 

It's late morning before she gets her first break. She slinks out the employee entrance, pulling out her lighter and a single cigarette. She lights up and takes a deep drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs. It’s relaxing, in a toxic sort of way. Just like everything else in her life.  
  


“Hey, babe,” a warm, familiar voice greets.  
  


Well, almost everything.

She’s already smiling before her eyes leave the pavement. Smoke passes her lips on a slow breath. “Hey, E.”

Ethan grins as he walks over, wrapping his arms around her as he presses a kiss to the side of her head. “How’s work?”

Rolling her eyes, Lex holds up her cigarette, letting him take a hit off it. “Boring as hell. Can’t wait to fuckin’ get out of here.” She brings her hand back down, taking another drag before asking, “Shouldn’t you be at school? You’re tryin’ to get your diploma.”

“Lunch break,” Ethan assures her. “Just slipped right out the window in the teachers’ lounge. I’ll be back before anybody knows I’m missing.” He kisses her cheek. “Trust me, babe, I’m not tryna to do senior year a third time.”

“Good.” Lex smiles up at him before giving him a quick kiss. “Proud of you, E.”

His cheeks flush the palest shade of pink as he breaks out into a goofy grin. “Thanks, Lex,” he says softly. “I should probably head back.”

“Make sure you eat something,” Lex chides as she crushes out her cigarette. “And remember to pick up Hannah after school.”

Ethan rolls his eyes. “How could I forget to pick up Banana Split?” He kisses her again without waiting for an answer. Lex smiles into the kiss, dropping the cigarette butt on the asphalt in favor of holding onto Ethan’s shoulders.

Frank comes out looking for her five minutes after her break _should_ have ended. She’s playing with the E charm dangling from her necklace while she watches Ethan’s car pull out of the mall parking lot.

“Excuse me, Alexandra,” Frank says sarcastically. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you get back to work now?”

“Fine,” Lex replies, her voice flat. She turns to walk back into the store, fingers still wrapped around the charm.

After an eternity, four pm finally rolls around. Lex walks out of Toy Zone, her vest thrown over her shoulder. She scours the parking lot for Ethan’s car. She’s just spotted it when she hears a bright voice call “Lexi!” She turns to see Hannah running toward her, Ethan following close behind.

“Hey, Banana!” Lex laughs as she catches her sister in a hug. “Was today a good day or a bad day?”

“Good day!” Hannah says. “I answered a question in class!”

Lex gasps. “That _is_ a good day!”

“Well, hey, don’t forget to tell her you beat me at air hockey. That’s good too,” Ethan adds as he finally makes it over to them, his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“You let me win,” Hannah says with a glance over her shoulder at him before looking at Lex again. “He let me win.”

Ethan makes an insulted sound. “No, I didn’t!”

Hannah turns to look at him fully. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Ethan brings a hand up to run a finger over his heart in an X motion. “Hope to die.”

That seems to pacify Hannah. She takes one of Lex’s hands and tugs one of Ethan’s out of his pocket so she can hold it as well. They walk out to Ethan’s car, Hannah loading up in the back and Lex sliding up front into the passenger seat.

“Are we going home?” Hannah asks softly from the back.

Lex and Ethan exchange glances. “Why don’t you and Lex come hang out for a bit, Banana?” Ethan suggests. “We can get a pizza and I can help with your homework.”

Hannah nods. “Let’s do that,” she agrees.

One quick stop later, there’s an orange pizza box sitting next to Hannah in the back seat. They drive out into the woods that line town. Soon they’re off the road, pulling behind an old boxcar, blocking the view of the car.

Hannah’s carrying her backpack and Lex is holding the pizza as Ethan slides open the panel of the boxcar. He climbs in first, flipping on the generator so the Christmas lights Hannah strung around bathe the space in a glow. He walks back over, helping the girls climb in before sliding the panel closed again.

“Okay, Banana,” Lex says as she sets the pizza box on a small end table and flips it open. “Help yourself.”

“Aren’t you going to get some?” Hannah asks.

“Maybe later. I’m not hungry right now.” Lex says, hoping her stomach doesn’t betray her by growling. “You get some though.” 

Hannah nods before reaching in the box to get a slice. Lex watches as Hannah works on her homework with occasional, well meaning ‘help’ from Ethan. She doesn’t understand why these teachers give so much homework. Hannah’s just a little kid.

After Hannah finishes her homework, she pulls a book out of her backpack and climbs on the futon in the corner. Lex takes that to mean she’s done with the pizza and grabs a slice for herself. Ethan shifts to sit beside her, grabbing a slice too.

“She’s a bright kid,” Ethan says softly.”

“Yeah, she is,” Lex agrees around a mouthful of pizza, “She deserves better than this.”

Ethan’s free hand finds hers, lacing their fingers together. They sit quietly as they finish off the rest of the pizza. Lex is about to suggest Ethan driving them home when she notices Hannah’s asleep, her head resting on her book. She moves away from Ethan to cover Hannah up with a blanket.

“Bad night last night?” Ethan asks.

“Yeah… Mom and I were fighting,” Lex says, “It probably kept her awake.” Guilt pools into her chest. How could Hannah have possibly had a good day when she was this exhausted?

Lex feels Ethan’s arms around her. “Wanna go sit on the roof?” he suggests, “I have some whiskey and we can watch the sun set.”

“Yeah…” Lex twists in his arms to look at him, smiling wearily. “Yeah, that’d be really nice.”

Ethan kisses her before moving away to get the whiskey. Lex grabs the spare blanket off the back of the futon and Ethan’s pack of menthols. Soon, they’re on the roof of the boxcar, passing a bottle, a cigarette, and kisses back and forth while they watch the sun dip below the trees.

Nothing is perfect in Lex Foster’s life. This, she thinks as she looks up into Ethan’s eyes as they break from a kiss, is probably as close as she’s going to get.


End file.
